Personalize your wedding with Caribbean 'Shells of the Month'

While my husband and I were on our second honeymoon on St. John, we visited a lovely jewelry shop in Mongoose Junction and discovered this fun chart about the 'Shells of the Month,' which works a lot like birthstones and the flowers of the month. The jeweler casts actual shells using precious metals in his work, but you can incorporate the real deal in your decor. Check it out to see if your island destination wedding or honeymoon could use a fun shell theme with meaning:

Attributes of Shells, from http://www.pattongold.com/shell_attributes.htm

In the 1970s R&I PATTON collected local* shells and made molds of them in order to cast them in solid 18k, 14k and sterling. They are beautiful, lasting tokens of remembrance for an amazing island and a significant event.

Seashells and what they have come to represent:

January:
Starfish: orderliness, charisma, honesty, persistence, regeneration, originality

February:
Limpet: intensity, stability, determination, durability, steadfastness

March:
Scallop:truth, faithfulness, trustworthiness, precision, balance, dependability

April:
Tulip:sweetness, compassion, loveliness, kindness, tranquility, love

May:
Murex: poise, beauty, intricacy, intelligence - very feminine shell

June:
Sanddollar:loyalty, encouragement, reliability, certainty, predictability

July:
Coral:warmth, charm, openness, complexity, enthusiasm, zeal

August:
Urchin: boldness, confidence, creativity, decisiveness, certainty, bravery

September:
Cowry: prosperity, worth, generosity, directness, ambition, versatility

October:
Flamingo Tongue: strength, simplicity, potency, courage - a very masculine shell

November:
Triton: expansiveness, loquaciousness, wildness, energy, passion

December:
Conch: power, leadership, devotion, optimism, cooperation, harmony

* Since it is now illegal to remove any shells from the beaches and waters of the U.S. Virgin Islands, these precious metal replicas are great and lasting mementos.

These shells make wonderful wedding party gifts. Our staff would be happy to help you decide about which shells would be appropriate for individuals in your group.



For more on personalizing your wedding, visit my site!

Best Bridal Party Gifts

Find fantastic bridal party gifts at Things Remembered. If you're looking at bracelets, though, be extra-careful about the circumference when it comes to your child attendants. I bought two bracelets for my flowergirls and they were WAY too big. Ths silver lining of today's shaky economy is that you'll find really nice sales at a lot of the retail stores for essential wedding purchases. Plus, we're headed for a holiday weekend, so that means more sales out there! Shop wisely, but know that you can get far better gift items for all of your bridal party members for far less than you might expect!

Good Morning America

I spent this morning in the green room at Good Morning America Now, the third hour shown on their site, and observation #1: they have a Wii system in the green room. And the coffee was fantastic. I met up with Stacey Seiden from Bernie Robbins jewelers (http://www.bernierobbins.com/), who was so generous with her time to bring a dozen gorgeous pieces of jewelry for the segment I was to shoot -- "January is the best time to shop for your wedding." [I'll post a link when it's ready to air.] $150 for a five-strand pink pearl bracelet for bridesmaids....or for the bride...or for moms. That's a HUGE bargain and one of the pieces I was delighted to show during the spot.

Tune in to the show to see the other amazing bargain luxuries I brought to the set. They'll have all of the buying info and links on their site.

Observation #2: the new modeling reality show with Niki Taylor and Tyson Beckford was shooting right outside the GMA window, so I got to see the parade of beautiful people...Stacey tells me that during my shoot, they all walked past the window in boxing robes, so if you're going to watch that show, there may just be a supermodel boxing match to look forward to ;)

The taping went beautifully, although I wasn't allowed to include the selection of Victoria's Secret honeymoon-wear, wedding night corsets and bridesmaid gift items that they gave me to showcase [we ran out of time], so I urge you to visit http://www.victoriassecret.com/ for their 50%-off sale going on right now. Pajamas for $29, amazing lingerie [you'll want all new stuff for your honeymoon!] and the cutest thing I picked up: cami-panty sets in an ice cream cone shape. It broke my heart that I couldn't show that on the air today! Check out the beauty and perfume sets for under $15 to really spoil your bridesmaids and not break the bank. I'm headed over to the site right now to pick up a few things, further supporting the concept that NOW is the best time to buy clothing, spawear, lingerie, undergarments for your wedding day, and comfy pajama sets for yourself and for your favorite people.